Workmen's advocate., 1887-03-05
TANKS CRITICISM
HENRY GEORGE s OPINION OF
 THE PROSPECTS.
The Cincinnati Boom Reasons Why lIo Can't lndorsc lt-What GS.. GOO Men Voted For "A
 "told. Cold Shake"
 Sans Tr0Wci.

Henry hoofge8 paper, IHe >i0/t- d0rd, contains this week q lengthy report of the Cincinnati convention, as we'll as a column of editorial matter on the subject. Five col umns of the first page are devoted to Il mass meeting held the night be- fore the convention, where Mir. George spoke to five thousand pro- pie.
 The .NoadTd'N editorial comment upon the conventions acts contains many propositions with which So- cIalists may heartily agree, and some which they cannot fail to crjticise.
 The .Sioulard says, speaking of the makeup:
 "The convention derived what little representative character it had from the delegates of Western grcpnbuckers and farmers associations"
 It will be inferred from this that in the opinion of Henry George, the grconbackers and farmers have "littIe representative character" In this we cannot acqnloscc. EXperi- once has shown that the green packers and farmers have a pretty clear idea of what they want, and il is folly to ridicule them because they cannot spring out at Il bound to Henry Georges position.
 Moralizing, the StuRddfd says:
 "There has been, for some time past in the United States, enough discontent with the existing parties to give rise to a new party; but the difficulty has been that the discomfort has been vague, and those who felt it have not been united either as to the cause of the evils they felt or as to the method to he adopted for their cure; x % the Knights of Labor have not known what they wanted politically
 This is just what Socialists have been claiming for years, and may be heartily endorsed.
 But in the latter part of his arti- cIe Mr. George loses his head, and recommends the abolition of aIl taxa tion, save that on land values. as a remedy for 0H rrilS, claiming that the G8,OO0 New York votes were cast for his proposition, thus;
 But through all the chaos of conflict ing opinions an idea has been making ith way, around which it is possible for Il great party to crystalline, and the nu~ cleus of that party, at least, has already begun to form, At the last municipal election the workingmen of Ne" York,
 instead of presenting, as had former labor parties, a platform embracing everything in general and nothing in particular, had the good sense to bring the land question to the front, and sub ordinate everything else to the demand that the monopoly of natural opportuni- ties should be broken up by concentrat- ing taxation on the value of land
 Here Socialists will dltfer; holding that the land question forms but q small part of the reform measures which must be undertaken before a remedy for existing evils can be reached. And again. from the assertion that the independent labor movement in New York was essen tiaIly exponent of the land in ques- ton, nothing can be farther from the true conclusion. As matter of fact, the workingmen of New York voted for the personality of Mir. George, believing him to be an up- right and honorable man, and one sincere in his efforts to benefit them not for the theory which he repre- scnts. Probably not more than one third of those who voted for him know of or have read anything OH the subject. To read works of po- l iitical economy has not yet become q characteristic of the working people. How absurd, then, to suppose that these 5000 voters understood the l land question and voted in accord auce with such understanding. No. No Mr. George, you have still great educational work before i you ere you will be able to affirm